Month: April 2012

There will be a First Thursday opening reception this Thursday, May 3rd, from 6-8:30pm, for Heidi Schwegler‘s new body of work, The Known World–a suite of objects, images, and videos–at the Chambers@916 gallery. Here’s a little background for the show from her Artist Statement:

“For the past two years, Heidi Schwegler positioned herself as a tourist in China, Iceland, Argentinaand Southern California. In exploring each environment, she became sensitive to the notion of perceptual blindness, a phenomenon which makes it difficult to understand what one sees in an environment that is very disconnected from the familiar, which can feel very alienating. To ground herself, she sought patterns in the unnoticed and discarded objects that exist on the periphery, rather than the spectacle of tourist attractions. Objects and situations that are normally overlooked, like a discarded mattress or duct tape holding down a mannequin, became instantly evocative. These experiences ultimately became the springboard for this body of work, which speaks of what is known but no longer seen.” From (here)

We are extremely excited to see this show! Last October, Heidi Schwegler started off OCAC’s lunch-time talk series with an amazing presentation about her sabbatical and artist residencies. Most of her presentation covered her explorations and revelations about art and the everyday, and, while we did see some of the objects that she had made (which again were amazing!), there wasn’t enough time to talk about her whole body of work that came out of this period. Fortunately, we have that opportunity starting this Thursday! Don’t miss it!

The show will run through June 23, 2012.

Staying on this theme of the “everyday,” the library pick for this week is The Everyday edited by Stephen Johnstone. It would be an excellent book to check out to prepare for Schwegler’s show in order contextualize her work with respect to the ongoing collective discussion around the concept of the everyday that has been going on for well over half a century. Or, perhaps your interest might be peaked about it upon seeing The Known World.

According to the Publisher, this collection of essays, excerpts, and other writings tracks the “range of contemporary art engaged with the everyday and its antecedents in the work of Surrealists, Situationists, the Fluxus group, and conceptual and feminist artists of the 1960s and 1970s. This art shows a recognition of ordinary dignity or the accidentally miraculous, an engagement with a new kind of anthropology, an immersion in the pleasures of popular culture, or a meditation on what happens when nothing happens. The celebration of the everyday has oppositional and dissident overtones, offering a voice to the silenced and proposing possibilities for change “(from here).

With more than 400 mobile eateries selling their tasty goods within our city limits, Portland has become an international destination for mobile eats. U.S. News Travel recently declared Portland to have the “world’s best street food.”

Four weeks of one small group show per week, with opening receptions on April 11, 18, 25, 27 and May 2, 4:00-7:00pm.

Students in the College’s BFA and Certificate programs spend their final year perfecting their craft in the creation of an original body of work. This final thesis project reflects their personal and conceptual ideas and finely tuned craftsmanship. The entire learning experience at Oregon College of Art and Craft culminates in the exhibition of their work.

image: Linnea Simmons

Also a reminder: you can view many of the student’s work and help support them put on their final group show in downtown Portland by going here: http://ocac2012.weebly.com

“Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue: Would you concede that you create zany correlates of the body that maneuver between the abstract and the figurative?

Peter Shelton: This whole figurative versus abstract stuff comes from faulty thinking after World War II, suggesting that Modernism was fundamentally a battle between representation and abstraction. I don’t see it as one leading to the other or exceeding the other. It comes down to achieving some core expression, and the “hows” of getting there follow from that.

MDD: Do you mean that idea trumps process?

PS: Nothing is that simple. I mean that it’s inaccurate to see my work as growing linearly from abstract to real or simple to complex, or the reverse. Unlike many of my formalist predecessors, I don’t work linearly, evolving from project and situation to the next project and situation–ideas continue to circulate […]” (41)

Maria Elena Buszek is a scholar, critic, curator, and Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Colorado Denver, where she teaches courses on Modern and contemporary art. Her recent publications include the books, Pin-Up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture and Extra/ordinary: Craft and contemporary art; contributions to the anthologies It’s Time for Action (There’s No Option): About Feminism, Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women, and Feminism and Contemporary Artists; catalogue essays for numerous national and international exhibitions; and articles and criticism in such journals as Art in America; Art Journal; Photography Quarterly; and TDR: The Journal of Performance Studies. She has also been a regular contributor to the popular feminist magazine BUST since 1999. www.mariabuszek.com

The MFA in Applied Craft and Design is a joint degree program offered by Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art.

For this week’s library pick, we’ve selected Buszek’s extraordinary publication, Extra/ordinary: Craft and contemporary art! It is a must read for anyone interested in making and issues in the contemporary art scene today.

Here is a brief description of the work from the publisher: “Contemporary artists such as Ghada Amer and Clare Twomey have gained international reputations for work that transforms ordinary craft media and processes into extraordinary conceptual art, from Amer’s monumental stitched paintings to Twomey’s large, ceramics-based installations. Despite the amount of attention that curators and gallery owners have paid to these and many other conceptual artists who incorporate craft into their work, few art critics or scholars have explored the historical or conceptual significance of craft in contemporary art. Extra/Ordinary takes up that task. Reflecting on what craft has come to mean in recent decades, artists, critics, curators, and scholars develop theories of craft in relation to art, chronicle how fine-art institutions understand and exhibit craft media, and offer accounts of activist crafting, or craftivism. Some contributors describe generational and institutional changes under way, while others signal new directions for scholarship, considering craft in relation to queer theory, masculinity, and science. Encompassing quilts, ceramics, letterpress books, wallpaper, and textiles, and moving from well known museums to home workshops and political protests, Extra/Ordinary is an eclectic introduction to the “craft culture” referenced and celebrated by artists promoting new ways of thinking about the role of craft in contemporary art.” (found here)

“In Portland, Oregon, in the year 2012, the medium of the vinyl record continues to reign. There is a viable economy surrounding the buying and selling of LPs both classic and contemporary, and records are the format of choice for local bands—paralleled only, perhaps, by the cassette tape. An ever-growing body of recordings that chronicle the sounds of this time and place are available to us on vinyl, thanks in part to efforts from today’s event participants. But because of dedicated labels like Stankhouse, whose founder Nick Capello will play in the Hooded Hags, talented technicians like Robert Comitz, whose Frawg Pound recording studio is responsible for a plethora of recent releases, and shops like the Record Room that has fused business, bar, and venue, Portland doesn’t need Record Store Day. That in and of itself is a cause for celebration.” By MARANDA BISH from the Portland Mercury (here)

“Oh my, isn’t this a delightful pairing! Bad-girl legend Wanda Jackson and the Dusty 45s meet the charmingly brassy Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside for a rousing good time at the ol’ Roseland. You bet your Fujiyama Mama, this is going to be a swinging set from some good-time gals”. By COURTNEY FERGUSON from the Portland Mercury (here)

“It’s impossible not to love Wanda Jackson. The sweet lady with the nasty voice has been in the game for well over half a century, with rockabilly, country, and gospel songs making up a very lengthy catalog. She’s a living legend, pure and simple, and there’s no excuse for missing her—particularly when she’s sharing the bill with local heroes Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside. Ford’s brassy voice and retro charm makes this a perfect double header”. By NED LANNAMANN from the Portland Mercury (here)